Why I'm "Finally" Joining LinkedIn Content Broadcast Circus (Creator Mode: on)

The Self-promotion Hermit's Digital Dilemma in an Attention Economy

Hear ye, hear ye, gather 'round for a tale of resistance, revelation, and reluctant participation in the grand spectacle of online content creation. I've been the digital equivalent of a hermit in the mountains for years, observing the local community, technical community, and the epic and transformative global internet commercialization and industry chaos from my metaphorical alpine retreat.

Why, you ask? Well, buckle up, buttercup, because the reasons are as intricate as a cuckoo clock and twice as quirky.

The Ego Tango: Writer's Ego vs. Ego Monster

First off, there's the "Writer's Ego" - that pesky little voice that whispers, "Your thoughts are golden nuggets the world is desperately waiting for!" I've always found this mentality about as appealing as a yodeling contest in a library. In the grand symphony of life, those shouting "Listen to me!" usually couldn't carry a tune with a big bucket.

Of course, there's the "Ego Monster"—that ravenous beast that feeds on likes, shares, and "thought leadership" badges. As someone who believes true wisdom lies in realizing how little we actually know, "the more you know, the more you realize you don't know" (just look at youth or ex-US President Trump).

I've been just as eager to unleash my ego online as a cat is to wash in a bathtub full of floating cucumbers. (That is the header image inspiration)

The Signal-to-Noise Conundrum and the Ethics of Free Content

And let's not forget the Signal-to-Noise Ratio (S2NR). In a world where everyone's shouting to be heard, I questioned whether adding my voice would be like bringing a kazoo to a metal concert. Spoiler alert: it usually is.

What is apparent is that the more content we create on a platform that profits from our attention, the more we feed the attention economy with cheap labor and content that becomes a commodity.

Unique and clean data will soon be increasingly seen as balance sheet gold, but we are giving away our time and effort to compete with the economics of scale and attention-farming algorithms. All our best ideas eaten by a machine? Yes but ideas are cheap... but great ideas become more scarce when there is no way to turn them into action without T-Rex companies that will eat them (See my future posts for T-Rex companies)

But times change, and so do perspectives. Even a self-promotion hermit like myself can't ignore the AI revolution is going to change and crush all the micro-nuanced systems that allow the "opt-out" strategy that's about to hit us faster than you can say, "Hey Siri, what's the meaning of life?" (Spoiler: She/He/It doesn't know either.)

While LinkedIn often feels like Facebook's corporate cousin who is trying to be extra cool but wears a tie or "smart casual" to a beach party, it remains a valuable connection to the tech, platform, business card, and semi-professional combination of "Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, professional reference registry, and identity and access tool" and business worlds. And let's face it, it's a safer bet than Reddit for maintaining a professional image. CEOs and HR gatekeepers aren't quite ready for my hot takes on cat memes and sourdough recipes.

Consulting Experts and Opinion Leaders, Share Your Content, like a pretty bird.

The Tech Jungle Gym: Three Decades of Swinging

So why am I finally emerging from my digital cave? Simple. I've been a tech and business jungle gym monkey for three decades, swinging from "role-to-role" between jobs, businesses, father, builder, and leader. Like anyone, I'm just surviving "adulthood" in a world of corporate optimization, the nuanced idea of defining an ideal of what cultural integration might look like with global markets and social media.

• ? - Expat entrepreneur in Switzerland? Yes. Keep your head down and tic-a-long (always a "tourist" with an American accent)
• Crypto enthusiast before it was cool (and after it wasn't)? ? ... had to pay rent... You bet.
• Over-employed IT guy and under-employed IT architect? I've got the T-shirt and the therapy bills to prove it. ? ?

These experiences, from navigating the intricacies of Swiss business culture to riding the crypto rollercoaster, have given me a unique perspective on the intersection of technology, innovation, and human resilience. I've witnessed the transformative power of technology and its potential to disrupt and disenfranchise.

Wisdom in the Age of AI: A Human Touch

I've realized that the wisdom accumulated over these years—even if it doesn't meet my lofty standards—might be worth more than a hill of beans in this crazy world. As we stand on the brink of an AI revolution that's going to make the Industrial Revolution look like a minor software update, maybe, just maybe, my insights could help someone navigate this brave new world without ending up as a punchline in a robot's joke database.

In a world where AI is about to start writing our content for us, the best we can offer is our genuine selves and our hard-earned human insights. But should we put this on LinkedIn so that it will be commoditized into another "human resource"?

Adapting to this Change is "The Art of War" Meets Dating App Banter

But all that is more nuanced than the binary perspective of us vs. machines. How you adapt to change is more important than anything. Oh yes, resistance is futile, but using the perceived weakness as the core strength is the answer to the "Art of War", "all is fair in love and war", or dating app banter.

Embarking on the Wild West(World) of Tech

Stay tuned, folks. We're about to embark on a journey through the Wild West (West World) of AI, quantum computing, and whatever other tech monstrosities we humans cook up next. It will be a wild ride, but at least it'll be more entertaining than watching paint dry in the metaverse.

So, whether you're a seasoned tech veteran or a curious newcomer, I invite you to join me on this adventure.

Let's explore the possibilities, confront the challenges, and embrace the inevitable changes that lie ahead.

After all, in the words of the great bard, "The game's afoot!" or was it the robot that said, "The door is ajar," or Dave, "Open the pod bay doors. HAL"?

Standby.

#AIApocalypseNow #AuthenticVoiceInTheMatrix #LinkedInLunacy #FutureShock